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A week after a bomb blast killed 13 people outside the court, the Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the Centre as well as the state government to come out with a scheme with regard to grant of compensation to the family of the victims.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the Centre and the Delhi government to inform it about the quantam of compensation awarded to the victims so far and also the steps taken for rehabilitation of the injured.
"We expect both the Centre and the State to rise to the occasion and solve the situation," the bench said, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation seeking direction to the both the governments for adequate compensation to the victims and comprehensive expenses for the treatment of those injured in the September 7 blast at gate no 5 of the Delhi high court.
"We are sure that the loss caused to the victim's family is irredeemable but the legal representatives of the victims have to live life with dignity," the court observed, while issuing notice to the respondents.
Directing the government to furnish a list of victims who have been awarded the compensation and those who are yet to receive it, the bench said, "Sensitivity is not only to be shown by the governments but a sense of immense concern and concept of protective attitude must be reflected."
"We hope and trust both (Centre and the Delhi government) shall rise to the occasion and show impeccable sensitivity in view of the catastrophe that has visited the families of the victims..." the court said.
Appearing for the Delhi government, the standing counsel (civil) Najmi Waziri told the court that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 4 lakh each has been given to the family of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh has been given to each injured person.
The court asked the counsel to file a detailed affidavit by September 21, the next date of hearing the PIL.
Filing the petition, Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal submitted that despite repeated blasts in the city, the governments have failed to take preventive measures to stop such incidents.
"It is the primary duty of the Union government, state government and their respective officials to secure and protect the common people from terrorist attacks," the petitioner said seeking a direction to the government to provide social security to those who have been permanently handicapped in the blast.
"Despite the intelligence input, the governments have not taken the same seriously and as such have failed to perform their duties towards the common people," the petitioner said.
He alleged that soon after each such terrorist attack, the government assures the common people of best efforts to prevent recurrence of such incidents but nothing has been done on their part.